Miss last year’s sold-out run of The National Theatre of Scotland‘s award-winning production of Black Watch ? You’re in luck. NTS has returned to DC and the Shakespeare Theatre Company for an extended stay through October 7. Created by playwright Gregory Burke from interviews of Scottish soldiers, it details the experiences of those who served in the Iraq War as members of the legendary regiment, the Black Watch. This production uses fast-paced, inventive movement to tell a story that often gets lost in the fog of war.

“We’re not out here to tell anybody it was wrong to invade Iraq,” director John Tiffany said at the media preview yesterday, “We’re out to tell the story of the people who were out there. It’s our duty to know what they experienced if we’re going to ask them to fight for us.”

It’s easy in Washington to feel burned out by policy talk, and I’m ashamed to admit that when I first saw Black Watch was returning, I didn’t feel compelled to see it. Yesterday’s preview changed my mind, and I urge you to see this production. This is a powerful human story of men thrust into the alternating horror and boredom of war. The play succeeds in bringing them back to the forefront of our thoughts, where they rightfully belong. As Tiffany told me, “It’s about people, not politics.” Continue reading →